SIDON, Lebanon: The southern coastal city of Sidon came back to life Saturday, as the strongest winter storm in years leaves the city after five days of ferocious wind and rain.
Sidon’s fishermen headed back to sea Friday night after a long, costly break and spread their nets in the Mediterranean waters.
While some were lucky enough to net fish, while others were highly disappointed.
“Tens of us went up around 17 kilometers to the north and settled our nets, but today we were shocked with what we found,” Ibrahim Bawji told The Daily Star. “Garbage, nylon bags, empty water containers and even tree branches, but not fish.”
“We suffered a big loss today that worsened the losses of the five previous days.”
Mohammad Wehbe, on the other side, came back home with 20 kg of different kinds of fish, he said with a proud smile.
Sidon’s commercial port was also back to work Saturday, when a ship from Turkey named Yaz arrived at one of its docks.
Workers at the port began loading the ship with metals, after five days of pause due to the high waves.
Despite the cold temperature, some residents took advantage of the improved weather to have a walk on the city’s coast, as children whose holidays were prolonged by the storm rejoiced at seeing the sun again.
Many Syrian refugees, on the other hand, saw the sunny day as a chance to dry their mattresses, after rain water soaked their temporary homes in Sidon and other southern towns.
At least four people froze to death during the snowstorm, which covered many areas above 600 meters from sea level with thick layers of storm. The most affected were Syrian refugees staying in tents in mountainous areas such as the northeastern town of Arsal and the southeastern villages of Shebaa and Kfarshouba.
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